


Stormy Eyes

by Silvyia



Category: G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013), G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra (2009)
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, This is set some time after Retaliation, but certain characters are still alive, so basically I guess it's an AU?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-18
Updated: 2016-03-24
Packaged: 2018-05-27 13:28:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6286525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silvyia/pseuds/Silvyia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alexis, more commonly known as Raven, goes through a hard time in her life, and has an even harder time trusting those around her. She gets wrapped up in a life she never knew existed, and caught up in a love life she never thought of being a part of. Especially considering that love life consists of two monochrome ninjas. ((Rated M for language and adult themes in later chapters. You like what I did with the title cause I love it hahaha))</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

((Hi! Thanks for clicking! I'm still experimenting with writing styles, so the writing may change up a bit between chapters. Also, bear with me here, these first few chapters may be a bit rushed as I have no clear ending in sight for the story, I'm making this up as I go along haha. Anyway, make sure to leave a review, thanks!))

 

Learning is a great experience. You gain knowledge and wisdom, and it makes you feel better about yourself, knowing you're probably smarter than that annoying kid next door.

..or perhaps that's just me? Who really knows at this point. I don't remember how most of my childhood went. Not that I would want to, of course. With the little information I do remember, I wouldn't really want to recall how the rest of it went, let alone the details.

My name is Alexis Maywood, although I'm more commonly referred to as "Raven" around here. At least, around the places I'm known. It started out as just a joke, my nick name being Raven. I have a sharp eye, and I'm a stickler for details, earning me the title of "Hawk" by my friends. One of my female friends had commented that it wasn't "feminine" enough, and so I was instead named Raven.

That was about seven years ago, so I've pretty much adopted Raven Delacroix as my new name. Why change the last name? Well, you see, it's not just a nickname. It's my codename.

I guess most people wouldn't need a codename, especially not at the mere age of 16 years old. But with the life I lead, I'm not really like most people.

I learned how to lock pick at the age of 11, from one of my elder brothers. Joshua. We learned it together, although he had had a bit more experience that I did at the time, so he pretended to be my teacher anyway, even if I learned faster than he did. I always did. I'm a fast learner, and I love gaining new knowledge. Or, rather, I just really didn't like being kept in the dark about something, so I made it a point to learn about whatever I could, whenever I could.

I learned how to sneak in and out of places at the age of 12, from my younger sister, Amaya. She was always hyped up with sugar and, even though she was never allowed to drink it, coffee. She was a sweet girl, but very over dramatic, and liked making an entrance. I never liked that kind of flare. I've always kept to the shadows and stayed unnoticed. I guess learning to sneak and lockpick really only added to my antisocial nature.

I learned how to hunt with rifles and shotguns at the age of 15, from my father, Kelly. He was military. He never really spoke about his job, he was honorably discharged after being wounded in both legs, but that's as far as my knowledge for his past goes. He learned to walk on both legs soon after he left his job, although he still had a bit of a limp when walking fast. He was a good man, and he tried to be a good father, but the older he got, the more his mind deteriorated until eventually... he couldn't remember who I was. It happens with age, I suppose. I still missed him, though.

I have always been rather athletic, considering I was always with my younger brother, Gabriel. Although, he's really only 13 days younger than me, so there's not much of an age difference. We weren't blood related, my father and his mother got together, so we were related by law. He became my younger sibling in more than just law soon enough, however, after learning about his anxiety and panick attacks. And the bullies.

I was a very big pushover when I was younger. It wasn't very easy to frighten me, there are very few things that scare me even now, I just could never bring myself to say no to people. One of my biggerest fears is being replaced because I'm not good enough, so I always sought to make everyone around me as happy as I could, even if it was at my expense. So, me being bullied was one thing. I could take the bullies all the time. I'm a strong willed gal, I'm pretty good at ignoring them. But bullying my younger brother who cries in a thunder storm? Not cool. I've always stood up to the bullies when Gabe came around.

The kids in school looked up to me. I was smart- I got all A's and B's in advanced classes, and I was the classic teacher pet kinda girl so I was a well known tutor as well. After I started standing up to the bullies, my popularity rocketed through the roof.

I hated it, though. I hated being noticed. I hate being replaced, but I hate being noticed. My anxiety sometimes controls my life, huh? Well, I've always made do with it. But, anyway, back to my skills!

I learned how to play the guitar at the age of 15. To be fair, I tried to learn it earlier at the age of 13, but I am not a patient person, so I dropped it as soon as I realzied it was getting nowhere. I am, however, a big fan of music, so I forced myself to learn it when I got older.

I also learned to cook and sew at 15.

...I learned how to kill at the age of 16.

Or, rather, it was my first time killing. I had always known how to do it. My father was very big of me learning how to protect myself, any means necessary. But it wasn't until the Maywood Massacre that I had to put those skills to use.

It sounds like a dramatic name, I know, but bear with me here, I'm not the one who made it up.

August 30th, my 16th birthday, seven years ago. I was so excited. I faintly remember saying something about how I would kill my brother if he touched my cake slice.

But it wasn't me who had ended his life.

 

((The next chapter will be a flash back of her 16th bday, and then we'll get on with how she comes across them and all that good stuff<3))


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ((This is a fairly large chapter, hehe. Hopefully I can keep them this long in future chapters. Anyway, here is the Maywood Massacre! Also, I'm going to be making art of what Alexis looks like, before and after the massacre. It'll be up on my tumblr some time today. My tumblr is Artistic Assassin, so go take a look! Enjoy the chapter, make sure to leave a review, and thanks for reading!
> 
> I don't own G.I. Joe, only my OCs.))

 

 

Sunlight streamed through the open windows, a slight breeze accompanying it, creating a warm yet cool atmosphere in the bedroom. 

 

Three young girls lay in said bedroom, the younger two sharing a single bed and the third, the eldest, lay across the floor wrapped up in blankets and a single pillow. The moment the sunlight cast a bright red over her eyelids, the eldest of the three girls awoke with a smile. 

 

She sat up, stretched and yawned, then quietly made her way to the shared bathroom connected to the bedroom. She gave a scoff at her image in the mirror.

 

Short, messy light amber hair lay tousled atop the girl's head, sticking up in all directions as it curled around her pale face. She stared into her vibrant green eyes, silently thanking the Gods for such a beautiful eye color. Green was always her favorite color.

 

She shed herself of her pajamas, which consisted of a single dark blue button up blouse and a simple pair of black shorts, and got into the shower. Getting up early had its' perks, such as getting the first shower of the day, even if she wasn't allowed to spend more than 10 minutes using up all the hot water.

 

She showered quickly, then got out and dried, trembling in the cool air as she dressed herself in her day clothes. Her indigo shirt clung to her nicely, loose enough to be comfortable yet fitting enough to make her feel beautiful. She put on a pair of white shorts that went down mid thigh, accompanied by a pair of simple white socks and her favorite knee length brown boots. After glancing over her image in the mirror and deeming it acceptable for the day, she left the bathroom, glancing at the two girls rubbing sleep from their eyes as they realize they were, once again, too late for the first shower. They huffed angrily now that they had to wait.

 

"No fair, Ray," the youngest of the three girls pouted, crossing her arms angrily.

 

"Maybe you should get up earlier, Lilah," The oldest girl smiled.

 

"Or maybe you should stop getting up so early, Lexi!" The middle girl spoke, throwing her hands up in the air.

 

"You can still brush your teeth now," The eldest, Alexis, bent down to pick up her shoulder strap bag, throwing her art supplies and a few sketchbooks along with her phone in the bag. The two younger girls both ran to the bathroom, arguing over who got which toothbrush. Alexis rolled her eyes, stepping briefly into the bathroom to sort out the problem. She put her own toothbrush on the highest shelf, too high for the younger girls to mess with, and spoke.

 

"The pink one is Lilah's, the blue one is Amaya's." The girls sorted their toothbrushes and began to get ready for the day.

 

Alexis ran down the stairs, skipping steps in her excitement. Before she could fully reach the bottom steps, the two girls ran out the bedroom door and shouted, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEXI!"

 

Except for Lilah, she had called her "Ray", short for her nickname, "Raven". Lilah was only 7 years old, and she supposedly had yet to figure out that nicknames weren't actual names, so she continued to refer to Alexis as Ray or Raven all the time. Her other sister, Amaya, being only 14 years old, referred to her as simply "Lexi".

 

In her trot to the kitchen, Alexis ran smack into a hard chest. After stumbling back, she realized it was her older brother, Joshua.

 

"Josh!" She called, beaming up at the taller man. He smiled, scooping down to pick her up. Alexis squealed as she was spun around, then dropped down on the kitchen floor. She kicked him in the leg, though it did nothing. Joshua was only a year and a half older than Alexis was, being 17, close to 18 now.

 

"I thought you were living with Zach, down in Oklahoma?" She picked herself up off the ground, still smiling up at her elder brother, who happened to have the stature of a football player and a buzz cut similar to military hairstyles.

 

"I am, but we decided to come and visit for your 16th birthday," he explained, putting an arm around her shoulders. She could faintly smell pancakes cooking.

 

" 'We' ? Is Zachary here, too?" She looked up at her tall brother. He smiled down at her, but wasn't able to utter a sound before a voice spoke up behind her.

 

"Come hug him and find out," a tired voice laughed. Alexis turned, facing her brother, Zachary. She shouted in excitement and ran toward him, tackling him to the ground. Zachary was the oldest of her siblings at the age of 27, but he was nowhere near as muscly or as strong as Joshua. He was tall and thin, the classic image of an every day hacker. Though Zachary was nowhere near an 'everyday' hacker. He had amazing skills, he could probably hack into the Pentagon if he wanted to.

 

Laughing aloud at her own thoughts, she stared down at her brother who was still recovering from the fall. 

 

"Christ, Lex, try and kill me will you?" He coughed, smiling up at her as he pushed her aside and stood up.

 

"I will if you touch my cake again," she warned, remembering what had happened last year. 

 

What a mess. 

 

She shook her head, standing up as well. She sniffed the air, smiling.

 

"Joshua, my bro, my man, my beloved-"

 

"Why are you talking like that-"

 

"Your pancakes are burning."

 

Josh swore and turned around, almost tripping as he hurried to turn off the stove and slip the half burnt pancakes onto a plate. Joshua may be in the military, he may be tall and strong and intimidating, but he was really just a big teddy bear with a love of cooking. 

 

Alexis came over and picked up one of the pancakes, tearing it in half and popping a small piece into her mouth. She hummed.

 

"Not too bad, I guess. Could use some fruit." Then a thought hit the girl. "Where's Gabe?"

 

Josh began pouring more batter onto the pan, careful not to slip up once more, as he spoke. "Probably still in bed. You know how late he sleeps in."

 

"I'll go wake him up," Zachary offered, starting up the stairs.

 

"Nah," Alexis interrupted, tossing the pancake back onto the plate. "I'll do it." Zachary shrugged and got out plates, beginning to set the table for breakfast as Alexis walked past him, up the stairs. She walked the familiar path to her own bedroom, making a right before she entered another room. In the center of the room stood a single bed, with a clump underneath it, wrapped around blankets and sheets in a safe cocoon. Alexis walked toward the bed quietly, sitting on the side as she shook the bundle softly.

 

"Gabe? Gabe, it's time for breakfast, get up," She spoke softly, unwrapping the cocoon slowly. The boy underneath, small and tired, peaked open an eye to glance at her. She smiled at the boy, before he unwrapped the blankets himself, sitting up with both eyes closed once more.

 

"Hi," he said simply.

 

"Hey. Breakfast is almost done downstairs, pancakes and fruit. Probably doughnuts too, I dunno," Alexis shrugged and Gabriel nodded. His messy black hair swayed with the movement, and his slightly tanned skin seemed to almost glow in the sunlight. He opened his dark eyes again, looking at Alexis.

 

"...I need to dress."

 

"..oh yeah. Okay, get dressed, then come down." Alexis got up, leaving her youngest brother to dress himself in the light room.

 

By the time Gabriel had come down in a simple white t-shirt and faded grey jeans, everyone was sitting at the table, breakfast was served and everyone was eating. Everyone paused their eating when Gabriel had come down, staring at him silently. All but Alexis, as she pulled out the chair next to her and pat it, quietly inviting him over. He sat next to her and quietly began eating.

 

"Alex," her father called from the head of the table, setting down his fork. He sent her a gentle, fatherly smile. "Happy sweet 16th, sweetheart." Though Alexis was never a 'daddys girl', she couldn't help but smile at the pet name. 

 

"Thanks, Dad."

 

Several wishes of a happy birthday was sent her way, and she smiled at them all, replying in different fashions to each of their words.

 

Then, a knock at the door. Everyone turned their heads to look at the door, wondering who could have been at their home this early in the morning. Their father began to get up, but Zachary quickly had told him to sit back down, that he'd get it. He got up, placing his napkin on his empty plate as he strode down the hallway from their view to answer the door. Everyone was silent as the door creaked open.

 

"Oh, hey-" They could hear Zachary say, right before a gunshot rang out. Joshua stood up in a heartbeat, the father sitting in shock for a split second before getting up as well, immediately going to his gun cabinet in the back of the house. Before he could leave the room, another gun shot rang through the house and he paused, looking back. 

 

Lilah and Amaya screamed as they saw Joshua fall backwards, a gunshot to the chest. He landed on the kitchen floor, and blood began pooling around him the second his body made contact with the cold tiles. 

 

Alexis instantly stood up, staring at the entry way as she pushed Gabriel and the two girls behind her. She instructed them to go upstairs. Amaya began trembling and Gabriel was frozen on the spot. Lilah was crying too hard to listen to her. Cursing, Alexis began to forcefully push the girls up the stairs, telling them to hide under the bed. Amaya pulled Lilah along as she nodded in understanding, now crying as well.

 

Alexis turned to see Gabriel still standing in the stairway, frozen to the spot as three men walked around the corner, spotting him. One raised his gun to Gabriel's head, but Alexis barreled down the hallway and right into the man with the shotgun, his aim swerving and shooting the ceiling above them. They both landed in a heap on the floor, and Alexis got up, her natural fight or flight feeling activating, and she raised a leg, bringing it down on the man's shooting arm as hard as she could, flinching when she heard a crack. The man shouted out, and the two men behind her came up behind her and began trying to pull her back by the arms. She flailed wildly, determined to keep them away from her siblings.

 

"Gabriel," Alexis panted, speaking in a calm voice despite her panic. Panic wouldn't help Gabirl get away, it would only make it worse. "Gabriel listen to me," her voice raised as she brought up her arms and elbowed one of the men in the gut, him pulling back and coughing up blood. "Gabriel I need you to go find the gun cabinet in the back, and get something to protect yourself, okay?" Gabriel took a moment, staring at the body of Joshua, cold and lifeless, before nodding numbly, swaying on  his feet for a second before running off to the other end of the house. 

 

Now, she could panic.

 

Both men held her down, attempting to push her down onto her knees as she struggled harder, grunting and shouting in pain as they kicked and punched her. She saw the first man, the one with the shotgun, getting back up, and she panicked, rearing up her back legs as the two men held her up off the ground, and slammed them into both of the mens' kneecaps, only slightly apalled as they cried out in pain and dropped her to the ground. She landed on her stomach and hands, pushing herself back up without pause and kicking the gun man in the face, missing his nose and simply hitting his forehead. 

 

She cursed and pulled back, attempting to run before the gunman, now up and pissed about her trick with his arm, reached out and made a swing at her. She eternally thanked her father for convincing her to cut her hair short when he missed, and she dived forward, running toward the back of the house to find Gabriel and, if possible, the gun cabinet. She heard the men shouting behind her, then their footsteps as they ran across the tiled kitchen floor after her. She continued running, the layout of the house in her mind as she turned the corner.

 

The second she veered around the corner of the house, the wall next to her head exploded, and she screamed in surprise before silencing herself, realizing it wasn't the three men who had shot at her. She dropped and slid to a stop on the floor, glancing at the boy holding the shotgun with wide eyes.

 

Gabriel.

 

Alexis sighed in relief before realizing that his white shirt was drenched in blood and some other sticky red matter that she wasn't even going to guess at.

 

"Gabriel...?" She whispered, sneaking closer with her arms raised just slightly, knowing how panicked Gabriel could get when he was scared. 

 

There were three bodies around him, the floor was swimming in blood, and Alexis gagged at the smell.

 

"There are more of them..." Gabriel mumbled, almost too quiet for Alexis to understand. Another one? Then who were the other-

 

Alexis stopped in her tracks, her eyes made a slow decent to the body Gabriel had been holding onto.

 

_Lilah._

 

They got Amaya and Lilah. The third body was one she didn't recognize, and she assumed it was one of the men who invaded the house with guns. Her sweet little sisters, who wanted nothing more than to spread cheer across the world and had silly dreams of riding unicorns into outer space, lay dead at Gabriel's feet, knife wounds throughout their bodies. They had been stabbed to death. Their eyes lay wide open, mouths open in a silent scream of pain. How had she not heard them?

 

"Gabriel," Alexis whispered, her voice cracking in the middle of pronunciation. "Give me the gun."

 

Gabriel shook like a leaf, finally dropping the gun and sobbing into his red soaked hands. At once, Alexis was at his side, holding him close, picking up the gun quietly. She still had three other men to handle before her brother could be safe.

 

With that in mind, Alexis stood up, bringing her brother with her. She led them through the house, knowing the three other men were looking for them, and brought him to the stairway. She felt the side of the stairs until a small door popped open, and she pushed Gabriel in softly. He panicked in the small space, but Alexis pushed him in further. 

 

"Stay here, Gabe. I know you don't like dark or small spaces, but you'll be safe here. Promise me you'll stay here, okay?" He nodded, wiping his runny nose on his sleeve as he tried to stop his hiccuping. Alexis stared for a moment, unsure if she really wanted to leave him. There was a chance she wouldn't come back.

 

".. _I love you_ ," she said, voice not wavering as she declared it. Gabriel stopped in his movements and let out another sob. He reached forward and held onto her tightly, and Alexis ignored the steady wetness growing in her shoulder, wrapping her arms around him in turn. _She wouldn't cry_ , she told herself, holding back tears. Be strong. For Gabe. 

 

She pulled back a moment later, hearing clattering up the stairs. She closed the door to the small space and rested her hand on it for a second, whispering, "I'll come back for you, I promise."

 

She left, then.

 

She had some thugs to deal with.

 

\---

 

It was somewhere around 9 PM at night by the time the police had the entire house surrounded with yellow tape and had firemen, paramedics, and a swarm of policemen on the scene. Neighbours around the street had come outside to see what the commotion was about, and some people held their breath or turned away when stretcher after stretcher was brought out, holding the bodies of the people who once lived in the home. Most of the neighbors knew them, they were a kind family who loved helping out around the neighborhoud, and they couldn't think of anyone who would do this to them.

 

That makes two of us, Alexis thought bitterly as she sat on the edge of a paramedics van, holding onto a grey blanket for warmth, though she felt nothing.

 

A few feet away, a small group of policemen conversed, keeping their voices hushed as they spoke, staring at the teenage girl

 

"..How do you survive something like that?" One of them asked, staring at the girl in surprise.

 

"How can you live with something like that?" Another corrected, looking at the girl with pity in his eyes.

 

"You don't," the third officer spoke, swerving his head to stare at the girl wrapped in a grey blanket, staring off into space, not registering anything around her. Not a single scratch on her body but a few bruises around her stomach and back. "..not unless you knew it was comin'."

 

The two other officers stared at their comrade in shock. 

 

"You sayin' she's the one who did this? What about those men in the house, the ones with guns?"

 

"We did a background check, turns out they were ex-military. Used to work alongside her brother, Joshua Maywood. Maybe they were only comin' over for a visit. It was her birthday, afterall."

 

"What about the guns?" One asked, almost angry he'd accuse a young girl of such a heinous crime. "Weren't there prints?"

 

" 'Course there were! It had the mens' prints on it..." The officer began, and the other two almost smiled knowing that they had cleared her name.

 

"..and hers." Their smiles dropped.

 

"And the three goons upstairs? The dead ones? They died by repeated stab wounds, to the heart, the corated artery, every strike made was specific, like a surgeon had done them. How could she had done that?"

 

The officer shrugged. "Maybe she learned a thing or two. There are books of anatomy in her bedroom."

 

The three officers continued talking about the subject, but they were starting to believe it could have been the girl. Eventually, their conversation came to an end when one of them spoke up,

 

"It doesn't matter. We have to interview her anyway, then we'll see how it goes." The other two nodded, coming to an agreement. Then, as one of the officers turned to glance at the girl, he lowered his hands from his hips in surprise. 

 

"You guys-" he began, staring at the grey blanket discarded on the concrete road.

 

 

_"She's gone."_

 

**_((Alexis is done with their bullshit lol))_ **


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Thanks for sticking with me, heh. Hopefully the action here is nice, yes? And Raven finally comes into contact with the Joes! Not in the best way, but hey, I'm not complaining<3

**_Seven years later._ **

New York City was pretty much the same, even after the Maywood Massacre. The large streets were still filled with cars, beeping loudly as people hollered to 'move your ass!' from inside the vehicles. The people bustling about the city sidewalks merely ignored these curses and shouts, just another day in New York for them.

And yet, for one woman, it was so much more.

Only at the age of 23, Raven Delacroix was a master pick lock, thief, and assassin. She'd had years to perfect her skills, not only those already named, but acting as well. She was the perfect spy. She sometimes caught herself thinking that perhaps her father would have been proud of her skills, he had always believed that woman were just as qualified to be a fighter as a man. If only he could see her now.

Now, standing before a tall, intimidating looking building reaching high up into the skies. The blue tinted windows shone in the sunlight, and Raven marvelled at the beauty of the silver and blue designs of the building. Though looking up at the very top only made her stomach do flips. She never had quite gotten over her fear of heights, had she?

She strode through the doors, confident and unwavering as she politely nods to the receptionist woman behind the front desk. The young woman, perhaps no older than 19 years of age, nods back, a familiar smile gracing her pink lips. She always wore the same lip gloss, Raven noted. Pink and sparkly, bright, like her personality.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Delacroix," the younger woman spoke in a kind voice.

Raven grinned at the young blond, glancing at her bright turquoise eyes and tanned skin.

"Come on, Elise, how many times have I told you to call me Raven?" Raven spoke, stopping next to the silver desk and resting her forearms on the cool metal, cocking a hip as she smiled at the young girl mischievously. Elise, knowing the look in her eyes, gives her a stink eye.

"You're 15 minutes late, Ms. Delacroix." Raven groaned.

"Only 15? Darn, I was hoping to make it to 25. I guess I should have stopped for doughnuts on the way here, eh?" Raven suggested, grinning. Elise simply sat there for a moment before slowly sliding the open box of doughnuts to the front of the desk, smiling at Raven's expression.

"Thank you, you are an _angel_ ," Raven hummed as she took a plain doughnut with chocolate icing, giving Elise a wink before leaving to walk up the fancy looking spiral staircase.

Elise shook her head and went back to working on her computer, typing away as Raven jogged up the stairs, enjoying her sugary treat on the way.

Raven hummed, glancing through window panes as she made her way toward an office on the far end of the building floor.

" _Raven,_ " someone nodded to her, glancing up before going back to their work. She greeted them back with a two finger salute.

" _Yo, Ray!_ " Another called. She grinned and continued on her way.

As more people commented or greeted the woman, she simply said hello or gave them a smile. She continued her walk, all the way to the end of the hall, then made a simple turn, slowing her walk as she neared a door, wiping her fingers on her pants in a very unladylike fashion. With one swing, she opened the grand door and walked through, interrupting the conversation going on between a woman, a man, and a familiar face.

"Raven," the familiar man nodded toward her, sitting down in his chair as he patted down his wrinkled, expensive looking suit.

"Boss," Raven greeted with a nod, grinning, "Gee you look nice today, what'd you do, dye your hair? Lovely." The man groaned, covering his eyes with his hand out of frustration.

"Sit down, Raven."

"Okee Dokee," she plopped down in a cushy seat next to the woman who began to get even more infuriated by the second.

"This," she began, soothing down her platinum blond hair and glaring her angry brown eyes at Raven, then to the man in the suit. "This is your best Private Investigator?" She asked, incredulous.

"Yes," the man began crossing his arms across his desk, looking at the angry woman. "She is. Her name is Raven Delacroix, and she will get what you are looking for, no problems."

"No problems? She is 20 minutes late," Raven glanced at a clock, "She is a mess, has no manners," Raven cringed, "And she's wearing... jeans!" The woman spoke with her hands thrown wildly through the air, obviously getting angrier by the millisecond.

"What's wrong with my jeans...?" Raven muttered under her breath, looking down at her dark blue jeans.

"I must admit that she is a bit odd, and her methods may be a bit.." He glances to Raven, "..Unorthodox, but she gets the job done, and she gets it done well." Raven smiled at the man's words. How sweet.

"You're sure she can get it done?" The woman asked, seeming calmer.

"Absolutely. Isn't that right, Raven?"

Raven glanced into the man's dark eyes, brought out by his black hair. She hummed, glancing to the woman to her side, then back at her boss.

"Of course."

 

* * *

 

 

**_3:12 AM, Sunshine Apartment Complex._ **

Raven skipped up a flight of stairs, keeping her footsteps silent as she pulled her black hoodie over her face, just in case. Raven may be good at her job, but there was no telling when there were cameras placed about the area.

She traced her fingers across the wall as she walked, feeling the cracks and tears. When she reached a certain door, she stopped, turning to face the door as she pulled out a small kit from her one-shouldered red and black bag.

Room 103B, she read, opening the kit to reveal tools of all shapes and sizes meant for unlocking certain locks. She let her fingers slide over the tools for moment before picking out two of them, placing the small kit on the floor as she knelt on one knee, placing one of the two tools into the lock before her. She turned it, still and quiet as she listened for the tumblers to lock into place. Once she heard the small, yet satisfying click, she entered the second tool in as well, holding the first one in place.

The lock clicked, and she smiled, pushing the door open with a quiet creak. Entering the room, she looked around.

In short, the place was a shit hole.

" 'Sunshine' my ass," Raven muttered under her breath, shying away from the molding mess of wall paper near the doors. She was given a simple reconnaissance mission, really. The angry blond at her work place was concerned that her husband was cheating on her with another woman, and Raven was sent to check it out. The wife gave her this address, saying he came here for his "man time", and as Raven glanced down at a pile of porn magazines, she realized she didn't want to know what that meant.

Huffing, she walked through the dump of a living room and into the kitchen, she stopped in her tracks. If the living room was such a dump, she mused, then why the hell would his kitchen be so neat and spotless?

She ran her fingers over the white counter top, feeling the cool marble beneath her fingers. She glanced around the kitchen once more, confused, yet intrigued. Then, she took a single inhale, and, once more, stopped in her tracks.

_Bleach._

The room smelt heavily of bleach, it was almost nauseating. Then, in an instant, the mechanisms clicked in her mind.

A spotless kitchen covered in bleach...

"Your husband may not be cheating on you," Raven mused aloud, grinning. "But he may be doing something much worse.."

_Creak..._

Raven froze, her body turning hot and cold all at once as she held her breath and listened. What was that? She turned quietly, taking very gentle footsteps toward the door to the living room. She walked slowly, not making a noise as she stopped in the doorway, hiding behind one of the walls. She peaked around the corner slightly, looking through the gap. The door was ajar, yet no one was in sight.

 _Shit,_ she thought, as another creak resounded behind her. She stood frozen for a moment, before, in one swift motion, she reached into her strapped on bag, took out a small Swiss army knife, and swung behind her. Whoever was there with her took a quick step back, raising his arms to protect himself from the slash. Then he turned, grabbing onto Raven's wrist and reaching for her other. Raven twisted, jumping up into the air and kicking both feet out at the man, who grunted and stumbled back a few feet at impact, dropping her arm and the knife.

She fell to her hands, kicking up her legs and springing back up onto her feet without missing a beat. She bent down low, striking a fighting position, holding the knife out in front of her and the other up in defense. The man took just a second to recover before he was up again, running toward her at full speed. Raven didn't get a second to think before they were both crashing through the moldy wall, the man around her waist as she struggled to breath through as the wall broke apart and sent drywall into the air.

They landed on the floor of the living room, grunting from impact. The man continued to wrestle for her knife, and Raven brought up her arm, bringing her elbow down on the man's back with strength, hearing a grunt of pain as he couldn't dodge the blow.

He stood, bringing Raven with him, before punching her square in the stomach, winding her as she gasped for air, then punched her in the face, sending her back, over the couch's back. The man listened as she landed, probably on her back, on the other side of the couch. Then, the room was silent.

The man panted as he listened, yet could not hear the woman. He took a cautious step toward the couch, intending to peer over the edge to see whether she was still downed or not, before the couch was kicked toward his feet, making him stumble for his balance as Raven jumped up onto her feet and jumped over the couch, kicking him in the face mid-air and sending the both of them flying down to the floor once again.

They landed, the man on his back and Raven atop him, before they began wrestling for the position of control. They switched sides several time, man on top and Raven below, then vice versa, then switched again, before Raven's knife was held against her own throat. Raven grabbed onto the arm holding her knife and twisted, hoping to get him to drop the knife, yet he held strong. Both arms shook with the effort of trying to move the knife in different directions. In one last ditch effort to not have her throat slit open, Raven brought up a knee and kicked the man in the stomach, hearing him grunt in pain before the knife was dropped from his grip.

In one swift motion, Raven flipped their positions once more, her knife in her hands and against the man's throat, both his arms pinned beneath her knees. Raven panted, shaking her head to get her long black hair out of her face, before asking,

"Who the _fuck_ are you?"

The man didn't answer, and Raven finally took the time to look at him. Or, rather, she found herself confused as she looked into the reflection of herself on the man's shiny black mask, before another figure appeared behind her reflection.

 

Then her world went dark.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey, look! Another chapter! Woo! I'm actually doing well with keeping these chapters kinda long(from 2000 words to 3000 words!), so that's good. Anyway, enjoy this chapter, and lots will be explained in the next chapter. She will also meet the two ninjas next chapter, so I can't wait to write that out haha. Anyway, enjoy!

The first sense to come back to Raven was her sense of feeling, then hearing.

 

She stretched out her fingers just slightly, pausing when the pins-and-needles feeling made her feel numb, yet in pain. How long had she been asleep? Why had she been asleep in the first place? ...What happened? Raven thought back to what had happened the night before.

 

She got a job. She had to check on a supposedly cheating husband for a panicky wife. She remembers smelling the bleach, and thinking he had probably killed in that room before. Or there was at least blood- enough blood to feel the need to clean the entire kitchen spotless and shiny. Then, she remembers the door was left open- no, she closed the door, someone else had come in afterward. 

 

Someone dressed in black, Raven remembered. She remembered being rammed into a wall, as the pain in her abdomen suddenly came back. _No,_ she thought, she remembered being rammed _through_ the wall. She probably had a broken rib or two, definitely a sprained wrist, too.

 

Then she heard mumbling.

 

" _-is she_?"

 

" _I don't... -neral Hawk..._ " Raven's eyes snapped open at the mention of the name.

 

General Abernathy. 

 

_Fuck._

 

"She's awake!" Raven heard a man mutter, surprise evident in his voice.

 

"Wha- seriously?" Another voice muttered, this time a female.

 

"Yes, seriously," Raven voiced, surprising herself at how hoarse she sounded. Did they drug her? Yet as she cringed at the pain in the back of her head, she was certain they had used a different method to knock her unconscious, and it wouldn't take a genius to figure it out. 

 

Raven could hear the two people who had been talking in hushed whispers jump in surprise, and Raven let out a small laugh, closing her eyes as she tried to sit up. Key word: Tried. She winced in pain as her center burned with the effort of trying to get up. Yet, even as someone, a nurse Raven assumed, tried to push her back down, she continued on her mission to get up. 

 

Once sitting, the nurse had backed off as she realized Raven wasn't listening to her warnings, she leaned back on the headboard of what she now realized was a white hospital bed. Raven took a moment to look around, cringing at the bright white walls, too bright for her tastes. The floor was tiled, white and grey in a striped pattern. The room was filled with machines and a few wheely chairs, Raven was hooked up to a heart monitor, beeping in a repetitive tone. 

 

Raven turned her head, looking at the machine very carefully. Then, she smiled, an idea in mind.

 

* * *

 

Raven wasn't one to go to hospitals often, she was usually very careful to not get hurt too much to take care of herself, on her own. So it was no wonder Lady Jaye would walk into the room to find the girl looking to the heart monitor, holding her breath to see if her heart would speed up or slow down. Jaye could almost scoff at her childlike wonder when it did, in fact, speed up. 

 

"Hi," the woman spoke, and Jaye nearly jumped out of her skin. The woman before her had yet to even turn her head, yet she had known Jaye was there anyhow. It was obvious there was something more to this woman than what she put out to be.

 

"Hello," Jaye responded, uncertain. The girl hummed, apparently now bored with the machine. She turned her head to look at Jaye.

 

"What's up?"

 

Jaye blinked. This girl- who she had never seen or heard of before- had shown up at their newest mission's location, somehow knew Snake Eyes was there with her, fought Snake Eyes, and made it out with only bruising around her rib cage and a sprained wrist, then woken up in a hospital bed with a stranger in the room- and yet, the first thing she says is a casual, "what's up" as if this was nothing out of the ordinary for her?

 

"..who are you?" Jaye asked, stepping closer as the door opened up behind her and someone else stepped in. A slight turn of her head told her that it was Jinx who had stepped in with her, apparently wanting to meet the new girl just as much as she did.

 

The girl sitting in the bed looked between the two of them briefly before answering.

 

"Who are you?"

 

"I asked first," Jaye shot back, and she briefly scolded herself for sounding like a five-year-old.

 

"But I was the first one to ask you, so, in hindsight, we both asked first, in a sense."

 

"..I guess that makes sense," Jaye mused, smiling slightly. This woman was amusing, that's for sure. Jinx stepped up to the bed beside her, seeing as Jaye was getting nowhere with the woman.

 

"Why were you at the apartment?" Jinx asked, crossing her arms and cocking a hip as she looked into Raven's vibrant green eyes. 

 

At the mention of the apartment, Raven suddenly realized that she was late to work. "Ah, fuck," she mumbled, staring ahead blankly. Her boss would give her hell for this. Raven scoot herself to the edge of the bed, causing Jinx to back up and place her hand on the handle of her katana warily, watching her with a close eye. Yet, all the woman did was push the blanket aside and attempt to stand.

 

Raven wobbled on her feet for a moment before she steadied herself, looking down at her hospital gown. She looked up in disgust. "Can I have my clothes back? I do not like how windy it is in here."

 

Jinx grimaced in frustration and Jaye snorted, hiding her smile behind her hands. If she wasn't laughing at the strange woman and her apparent neutral feelings toward what's going on around her, then it was at how frustrated Jinx was getting. They never did get along well, and to see her getting so angry over something so simple made her laugh.

 

"Sure. Jinx, can you go get her a change of clothes?" Jaye asked, putting her hands on her hips as she looked toward her teammate. Jinx stared at her for a moment with anger in her eyes before she turned on her heel and left the room, almost slamming the door.

 

The room went silent. Raven continued standing there, wobbling every now and then as she looked out the hospital window.

 

"She sounds mad."

 

"Yeah, sorry about her, she isn't a people person," Jaye smiled politely.

 

"Neither am I," Raven turned to look at Jaye.

 

"Right," Jaye mumbled, thinking of how to continue the conversation from here. "Uh- My name is Lady Jaye. You are..?" Jaye asked, taking a step forward and holding out her hand for the woman to shake.

 

"Eliza," Raven lied easily, as if second nature to her. Smiling politely, she shook Jaye's hand. "And- Lady Jaye? What is that, nobility?" She asked, holding back a laugh. Jaye laughed as well.

 

"Something like that. How are you?" She asked, quickly changing the subject off of her. Raven noticed the subtle change of subject. 

 

"I'm fine. A bit of pain here," Raven placed an arm around her midsection, "and my wrist could be better... but fine, overall."

 

The door opened up behind the two woman once more, and a nurse walked back into the room. She was carrying a tray with her and nearly dropped it the second she saw Raven standing up on her feet. She quickly caught it before any of the contents spilt to the floor, though, and placed it on a table beside the bed. The nurse shooed Jaye out of the room, telling her she had to make sure the woman was okay, and that she needed her rest. 

 

Raven looked up at Jaye in surprise when the small woman began pushing her back into bed, speaking a mile a minute. Jaye shrugged and offered a small smile, closing the door behind her as she let the woman do her job.

 

"Uh, really- I'm okay, really!" Raven assured the woman, trying to get her to calm down. 

 

"No you're not, missy! You have a broken rib and a sprained wrist, and it'll only get worse if you continue to move about! You need your rest and plenty of food and water in your system!"

 

"No," Raven defended, "What I need is to change into my clothes and get back to work." Yet even as Raven tried to talk her way out of it, the small nurse pushed her down into her bed and placed the tray beside her. 

 

Raven looked at the tray of food in uncertainty.

 

"Yay, hospital food," she mumbled under her breath, not looking forward to eating any of it. She really had to find out a way to make the nurse let her out.

 

"Oh, hush," the nurse shushed her. "It's good food, believe me." Raven hummed, poking at the meatloaf on the plate. 

 

"If you say so, miss.." Raven trailed off, hoping for a name.

 

"Oh, just call me Autumn, darling! And you? What's your name?"

 

"..Blake," Raven answered with only a moment of hesitation. Autumn seemed kind, but she still could not trust her. Not yet. 

 

The woman smiled. She was a young girl, couldn't be older than her mid 20s, yet Raven could tell she was a fiercely determined woman. She refused to let Raven out of bed, or even change into the new set of clothes that Jinx had dropped of moments after Jaye had left the room. It wasn't her clothing she was wearing the other night, but-

 

Then Raven suddenly realized something.

 

"Autumn, how long have I been here?"

 

Autumn looked up at the call of her name, and shrugged nonchalantly as she folded some white sheets into a basket. "A few days, sweetheart. You were hit pretty hard over the head." Raven looked down, brows furrowing in confusion. A few days...? Autumn seemed to notice the shift in the air, and quickly put down the sheet, smiling nervously.

 

"Oh, but don't worry! I gave Miss Jaye a mouthful for hitting you so hard!" Raven brought her hand up and placed in on the bridge of her nose, something akin to a face palm. Jaye is the one who hit her? Damn it. 

 

"And why did ' _Miss Jaye_ ' hit me at all, Autumn?" Raven continued looking down at her hands.

 

"W-well," she stuttered, noticing how calm you seemed to be all of a sudden- scarily calm. "From what I understand, you had gotten into a tussle with Snake Eyes, so..." she trailed off, her voice getting quiet in the end.

 

Raven shifted in bed, once again pulling the blankets off and making a move to stand up. Autumn was at her side in a second.

 

"Miss, please! You're wounded still! You can't go just yet," Autumn tried pushing her back down, but Raven ignored her.

 

"Back away, Autumn. I have places I need to be." With that, Raven stood up, walked to the other side of the room and gathered the change of clothes Jinx left for her. It seemed to be a simple white t-shirt, camo pants, and combat boots. Raven huffed, knowing they were probably going through her bag as she stood here. Then, she asked Autumn to leave the room so she could change.

 

"But-"

 

" _Autumn_." Raven glanced at her. Autumn shifted on her feet, nervous. She shouldn't be leaving a patient alone, but Raven was insisting so hard...

 

"Alright... but push this button here if you need anything at all, sweetheart," Autumn all but mumbled, pointing at a red button above the bed that read "emergency". Raven nodded, beginning to peal off the hospital gown. Autumn left the room, and Raven began to change.

 

As bad as she felt for leaving, knowing Autumn would be the one to take the blame for her disappearance, Raven refused to stay in one place for long, especially a hospital room after being knocked unconscious by a seemingly kind lady who Raven had actually liked. And yet there went another reason she couldn't trust the people around her. And with that in mind, Raven left the room, preparing to find an exit. 

 

She didn't want to be here any longer than necessary.


	5. Chapter 5

**_((Alright, so, a few quick notes: first of all, this chapter is much shorter than I wanted it to be, and it doesn't have all the explanations I wanted in it, so those will come into the next chapter, which will be longer, I promise!_ **

**_Secondly, I'm gonna start with a kind of... review counter? I don't know what to call it, but I really do need reviews and comments on this. I understand I have three followers so far, and I'm glad, really, I am! But without those reviews, it makes me feel like I'm doing enough, that it's not good enough to be commented on. Please, please leave reviews! It helps a hell of a lot more than you think!_ **

**_Alright, that's it for now. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!))_ **

 

Raven had to wonder if Jinx had gotten her measurements before getting her clothes or if she just winged it, but it fit her perfectly. Perhaps better than her everyday clothing. The simple white t-shirt she wore was fitting enough to allow full range and movements of her upper torso, yet loose enough to stay comfortable. Her pants, army grey camo pants, were a bit loose on her, but they tucked into her combat boots comfortably.

 

Raven stretched her arms at her side as she walked casually through the corridors of the hospital she was in. Or wherever she was. Raven was fairly certain that she wasn't, in fact, in a hospital. It seemed more like a base of some sort, considering the further she walked, the more she got lost. Then again, she got lost all the time, so she couldn't really tell.

 

Raven nearly sighed. She had a terrible inner compass, that much was obvious. She had no idea where she was going, she was leading on pure instinct. She's always had great instincts, so when her gut tells her to go in a certain direction, she usually listens.

 

Usually.

 

She couldn't seem to help herself when she comes at a fork in the halls. In the center lay a map of the area, and she was right in assuming it was a base. It had the layout of a military base, and Raven was beginning to think she probably knew where she was. 

 

The map told her which way was the exit, and yet she couldn't help but wonder what was down the other direction. 

 

"Briefing Room..?" She read aloud. She looked down one hallway, the way to the exit, then to the other- the way to the briefing room, and thought.

 

Fuck it, she grinned, walking toward the hall on her way to the briefing room. There was somebody here that Raven had to talk to, assuming he was behind all this. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

"Why the hell did you let her go?" Jinx asked, almost cursing to herself as the small woman in front of her shied away from her angry gaze.

 

"Jinx, relax," Jaye walked up to her, placing a cautious hand on her shoulder. Jinx shook the hand off and walks away, most likely to find the missing woman.

 

"I-I'm sorry, really!" The young nurse was on the brink of tears.

 

"No, Autumn, it's fine, really. Don't worry about it," Jaye comforted the small woman. "It's alright." Autumn sniffed and wiped her eyes, nodding with a small, timid smile. Autumn loved her job, and she loved the people here, she didn't want to get in trouble to letting the woman go.

 

"Now, Autumn," Jaye smiled gently, hoping to relax the young nurse. Autumn returned the smile. "Do you know where Eliza went? Did she tell you where she was going? She could get lost in here.."

 

Autumn blinked. 

 

"Who?"

 

Jinx returned, standing next to Jaye and Autumn. "Eliza. I suppose she may have not told you her name? The woman in the bed."

 

"She-- she did tell me her name, but.."

 

Jinx and Jaye waited for Autumn to speak. 

 

"She said her name was Blake."

 

\---

 

Raven continues walking through the halls, lowering her head when she passed by someone, which became increasingly common the further she walked until eventually she was walking up against the wall and facing forward, pretending to be minding her own business. She knew that if she tried to hide herself she'd only look suspicious, so she acted normal, as if she works here, and nobody bothered her.

 

She continued walking further, not even remembering which way was the Briefing room anymore until she came across a door. A very large door.

 

Raven looked at the hangar door, curious. What could be behind these? She wondered. Raven made her way forward, taking slow, cautious steps as she neared the large metal door. Yet before she could pull the handle open, a voice stopped her.

 

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a slightly accented voice spoke up behind the woman.

 

Raven froze to the spot, then, slowly, turned around to face the voice. A man stood behind her, dressed in a white suit, complete with a pair of white-sheathed katanas and more blades on his body than Raven cared to count. He had neat black hair, swiped off to one side, and eyes darker than coal. He stared at Raven, sizing her up to determine what kind of a threat she was, just as she was doing to him.

 

"Well," she hummed, turning to face the man fully. "I guess that's why you're not me." Raven flashed the man a grin, placing her hands on her hips. The man smirked, clearly amused with her answer.

 

"I guess," he hummed.

 

"So," Raven spoke, taking a cautious step forward. The man took a half step back, not breaking eye contact with her. "This all seems... a bit dramatic, for a hospital, don't you think?" She mused, taking another step forward. The man took another half step back.

 

"I think we both know that this is not a hospital," the man retorted, amused. Raven couldn't help but admit that he was quite handsome, and she's always had a thing for accents, but she ignored this thought train as she took another step forward.

 

"So, then.. who are you?"

 

This time, the man did not take a step back. He stayed where he was, and Raven almost faltered in her step. The man noticed.

 

"Who are you?" The man asked. This time, he took a single step forward. Raven stayed still, her hands itching toward her hip. Then she remembered she didn't have her weapons with her. So she instead widened her stance just a bit, staying light on her feet to run in any direction at a moment's notice.

 

This, he also noticed.

 

"You are trained?" He asked, taking another step forward. Raven scoffed.

 

"You say that like I'm a dog."

 

The man took another step forward, his hand resting on his belt where a handful of his throwing knives rest securely against his hip. "Well, you never did tell me who you are."

 

Raven thought for a moment. 

 

"...Raven. You are..?" Raven couldn't, for the life of her, figure out why she had entrusted the man with her name. She had panicked, you could say. Her mind went blank and she could not think of another name to give up, but her own. Oh well. She'll have to go along with it.

 

"Storm Shadow."

 

"What an odd name," Raven smiled. She took one final step toward the man, Storm Shadow, before she stops altogether. They are mere feet apart now, and Raven feels that was close enough. Storm Shadow was taller than she was, at least a half foot. She felt small under his gaze.

 

"Says the bird," Storm Shadow retorted. His arm fell to his side only slightly. He felt just slightly more at ease, she didn't strike him as the kind of person who would put up much of a fight. 

 

Raven furrowed her brows at being called a bird. Then, she got an idea. She smiled, an innocent smile to most eyes, but to Storm Shadow, it held malicious intent, and he waited for her to make a move, or to say something.

 

They both stayed silent as they stared each other down, silently daring the other to break away first. 

 

Then, in one swift motion, Raven reached behind Storm Shadow and had pulled one of the katanas from its' sheath. Storm Shadow jumped back a few feet in surprise at the sudden movement and grasped the area where the katana used to sit. Raven grinned as she twirled the sword in her hands, taking a few steps back as Storm Shadow glared at her through slit eyes.

 

"Pretty sword," she mused. 

 

"Hand it back," Storm Shadow demanded, all traces of amusement suddenly gone.

 

Raven looked up at him, then back down at the blade. It had beautiful, intricate markings on the hilt, and she began tracing the marks as she took another step back. Then, looking up at Storm Shadow once more, she struck a fighting stance with the blade balanced between her hands as she pointed the sharp metal at the ninja. Then she uttered three simple words, a grin stretching across her features.

 

_"Come take it."_


	6. Chapter 6

**_((This chapter might be the longest I've written yet! I hope at least a few of your questions have been answered, and more will be answered as I continue to write, but for now, here is chapter six! Leave a review, it helps me write faster! Other than that, enjoy this chapter of Stormy Eyes!))_ **

Jinx and Jaye had spent almost fifteen minutes talking over the deal with the names. Jinx had instantly gotten angry. She was used to being suspicious of people, and yet Jaye had insisted that she was alright. And now they find out that she had given them each fake names and then conveniently vanished before they could come back to question her. On top of that, the only reason she had been brought in was because she had fought with Snake Eyes on what was supposed to be a very classified, very top secret mission.

And had managed to pin him to the ground, a knife at his throat.

It was difficult to come across anyone as suspicious as her- but someone who could take down Snake in their first fight? No one like that should just be let go, they all agreed. They had gotten direct orders from General Hawk to personally oversee that she is doing well. They were told to treat her like a guest, and they had. And yet she had disappeared as soon as the two woman had left the room.

They spent the next five minutes looking for her. They didn't tell anyone that she had gone missing, they had been hoping to find her before anyone really noticed she was gone.

And find her, they had.

Jinx and Jaye had gone separate ways in their mission to find the mysterious woman, the woman who they now know they could not trust and didn't even know the name of. Within the four minutes it took to take a brisk walk around certain parts of the base, not all of it of course that would take forever to look through, they met back up in the center of the base to look at a map. They hadn't needed it, they had the base completely mesmerized soon after they arrived, it was habit for the both of them to know where they were at all times.

It was then that Jinx's enhanced senses, due to her ninja training of course, had picked up the faint sound of metal against metal. Jaye followed the young ninja and they eventually came across a very shocking sight, indeed. They had found the strange woman, and Storm Shadow, together.

Fighting.

Like, actual "swords out, throwing ninja stars, bloodshed" fighting.

And she was actually holding well against him.

By the time Jinx and Jaye had gotten there, a crowd had formed around the duo. Most of them were Joes in training, but there were a few full fledged Joes, chanting and betting on who were gonna win the fight. Most of them didn't know who the woman was. No, scratch that, none of them knew who the woman was. All they knew was that she was holding her own against a well known ninja who no one had been able to so much as touch a hair on his head. That was enough to keep them interested.

Jaye and Jinx fought to get to the center of the crowd, pushing past shouting Joes, chanting on a certain name. Or, rather, some were chanting for Storm Shadow, and some were chanting for the woman. They didn't really know her name.

Jinx nearly gasped when she got to the front of the crowd, seeing who the duo were. Jaye stifled a laugh at the pissed off look she saw flash in the younger ninja's eyes. Then she faced forward, watching the two, apparently skilled warriors, fight.

The two broke apart, stepping back a few feet after their swords clashed. Storm Shadow took an extra step back, rearing back his hand and throwing a multitude of razor edged throwing stars at the woman before him, who pounced forward to avoid the first three, which stuck a few inches into the concrete wall behind her. Raven grimaced at the smirk on Storm Shadow's face, raising his hand up with more pointy things to throw at her. She really hated dodging things. She was good at it, but she hated it.

Almost as if reading her thoughts, the smirk on Storm Shadow's face grew in amusement as he sent more stars in her direction. Raven did flips and twists and complicated moves only the more flexible people could do to avoid each of the sharp objects flying at her.

She finally landed less than four feet away from the ninja, pulling out her stolen katana as he pulled out his, kicking her feet out to sweep his from under him. Of course, he saw this action coming and jumped up to avoid it, realizing too little too late that it was a specific move to get him high enough into the air to bring the katana down on him.

The blade sliced through his front. He had been able to lean his body back just in time to only cut through the front of his body. Blood seeped through his pristine white suit, and Raven almost regretted ruining his suit. It had looked good on him.

Storm Shadow took a few steps back in shock, looking down at his ruined outfit. He looked back up at the woman slowly rising to her feet, a small, victorious smile playing at her lips. The smile fell from her lips, however, as she saw a dangerous glint of a challenge flash through his eyes.

She just started a war, hadn't she?

Yet, as both of them raised their blades into the air and made another attempt at each other, something whizzed past their heads.

Looking off to the side, Raven swore under her breath as she saw Jinx, her arm outstretched as if she had just thrown something. And, looking to the other side, it wasn't hard to connect the dots as soon as she saw the three throwing knives embedded into the wall. Storm Shadow seemed just as surprised as she did when seeing the two women at the front of the group of Joes, who had now been silenced as they snuck worried glances at each other. Some of the smarter ones dispersed to get back to their work. Some stayed to see the outcome of the disruption.

"You," Jinx pointed an accusing finger at Raven. "Who. Are. You?" She took a few dangerous steps forward, pulling out her red katana from its' sheath, furious at not only being lied to, but also to see this woman fighting her cousin. She convinced herself it wasn't the fact that she was obviously a better fighter than she was.

Raven rose to her full height, placing one hand on her hip as the other held the katana, pointing to the ground casually. She nodded her head toward Jinx. "Who are you?" She asked, a mischievous glint dancing behind her eyes. Jinx growled and took a large stride forward, intending to end the woman where she stood. Yet, as Raven gripped the katana tighter in her hand, Jaye stepped forward to separate the two dangerous woman. Storm Shadow watched with an amused smirk.

"Okay, so," Jaye began, a nervous chuckle passing through her lips. "You're name obviously isn't Eliza," Storm Shadow raised a brow. "Or _Blake_..." He looked toward the woman who only shrugged at his curious glance. "So what is it, really?"

Raven sighed, rolling her shoulders to release tension from the fight just moments before, and opened her mouth to speak.

Yet before she could utter a sound, a voice from behind the group of scattered Joes answered the question for her.

" _Her name_ ," a familiar voice called, scattering the rest of the Joes to get back to their training until only the five of them were left in the large hall. "Is Raven Delacroix."

Jaye and Storm Shadow turned to look at General Hawk in surprise, most likely at knowing who the woman was. Jinx kept her unwavering gaze pointed at the woman, now dubbed Raven, and smirked as if she had uncovered some secret about her and was rubbing it in her face. Raven raised a brow at the look, before turning slowly on her heels and began walking toward the General.

Jinx took a step forward to stop the woman, but Jaye pushed her hand down, obviously getting the idea that the General and Raven knew each other from somewhere.

"Hawk," Raven hummed, distaste clear in her voice as she stopped a mere two feet away from the man.

"Raven," The General nodded in a calm manner, yet the others in the room could see some kind of emotion swelling in him. What it was, they could not know. None of them, but Raven, of course. She smiled, but there was nothing genuine about her smile. It was laced with venom and seemed almost forced.

"Nice to know you're still afraid of me, Hawk." The three others in the room coiled back in surprise, obviously not getting the idea that they even knew each other, let alone Hawk had feared her at some point, and may even still fear her now.

Jinx was the first to step forward, shaking Jaye's hand off of her shoulder roughly before pointing the end of her katana at Raven accusingly, staring straight at Hawk.

"You know this woman?" She asked, incredulous.

"Yes," General Hawk admitted, taking a step back from her. Storm Shadow and Jinx both assumed it was out of fear, and they both questioned the woman more than they had before, wondering just who she was. Jaye stood there silently, waiting for an explanation. When they received none, she took a tentative step forward.

"How? I- where, _when_ did you meet her?"

Hawk looked down at the smiling woman before her, then looked to the other three in the room.

"I will explain this at another time. Jaye," He looked down at the confused girl. "Bring the rest of Alpha Team to the briefing room, we will be talking there." Jaye nodded. She asked no further questions as she saluted quickly then walked away, off to find the rest of her team. Hawk looked to the others in the room.

"Jinx, put that away. I thought I told you all to treat her like a guest," he gave a pointed look toward Storm Shadow who only looked gestured to his cut before looking at the General with a single brow raised in question. Apparently Jinx was just as suspicious as he was, as all she did was huff her hair out of her face as she continued pointing the blade at Raven.

"This _guest_ , General Hawk, infiltrated a top secret mission, brought down our highest ranking Joe," Raven was almost certain she heard an accented voice behind her cough out the words ' _second highest_ ', "lied to us about her identity, disappeared from not only her room, but her _entire medical wing_ , and then proceeded to start a fight with my eldest cousin!" She finished, the blade inching closer and closer to Raven's neck as she ranted until it was touching her skin.

Raven took a step back and, as the blade followed her motion, used her own, albeit stolen, katana to push the blade away from her throat, almost wincing at the sound of metal scraping against metal. She'd always hated that sound.

"Perhaps, but as aloof as she is," He spared a glance at Raven, "You still have direct orders to treat her with kind hospitality." General Hawk stated, swiftly turning on his heels and began walking away. To the briefing room, Raven assumed, and she couldn't help but smirk at the fuming ninja clad in red and black beside her. Jinx turned, glaring daggers at Raven, which only seemed to bounce right off of her as she held down a chuckle.

Raven, too, began walking away, following the General through the confusing halls.

"You should try anger management, I'm sure they'd love to take in a sweet lil' thing such as yourself," she laughed. Then, stopping for just a moment, she turned and glanced at Storm Shadow's torn outfit, the blood had stopped a while ago and was now turning a very dark shade of red that didn't suit the white ninja at all.

"And you should probably get that cleaned up," she turned and began walking away again. "Don't want to get an infection on that handsome body of yours, no?" She cooed, voice rising as she walked further away. Jinx only fumed more, stomping after the room, as Storm Shadow took a surprised step back. He watched as his cousin stormed after the mysterious woman. He smirked.

This was going to be a fun day, he mused, glancing down at his tattered outfit. It doesn't matter, he can simply change into his ninja attire. He had been meaning to change out of this suit anyhow.

Raven walked into the large room she was led to by a Joe that she had been told to refer to as "Cover Girl".

"Thanks," Raven said, not bothering to turn to look at the young blond as she marvelled at the room she stepped inside of. It wasn't much, not military wise anyway, but Raven couldn't help but awe at the lights flashing through the technology in the room. She smiled. The room felt familiar to her, and though she may not have liked her previous time here, she felt at ease anyway.

Then she realized everyone in the room had stopped what they were doing and was now staring at her, confused. Except for four gazes who looked either extremely pissed off, Jinx, or pleased that she had actually showed up and hadn't vanished again. Those four gazes, and that of a single black helmet staring right at her. Raven almost faltered in her step to stare at the man.

Despite the initial shock, she smiled as she walked around the large table in the center, standing a few feet away from the General, next to the stiff ninja clad in red. She turned her head in shock, surprised she would stand so close to her despite her previous statements. Yet, as she glanced at Raven's smirking features, she realized it was only to piss her off even further. She was testing Jinx, seeing how much it would take to make her snap.

Jinx hated her.

"Raven," The General nodded toward her, standing in a resting soldier stance.

"Hawk," she once again greeted, simply stating the name with distaste, no respect or kindness in her voice. Some of the Joes in the room seemed surprised at her disrespectful behavior.

General Hawk nodded simply. "I assumed you know a few people in this room?" He asked. Raven looked around the circular room, naming off the few people she knew.

"Er, Jinx," she winked at the fuming ninja, "Lady Jaye, Storm Shadow," she couldn't help the small smile tugging at her lips at the name, "General Hawk, Cover Girl," she nodded to the blond in the back of the room who honestly seemed shocked that Raven had remembered her. "And then this guy who tackled me through an apartment wall."

Multiple people in the room gasped quietly or raised a brow in surprise as Raven stared pointedly at a certain ninja clad in black. He raised his head slightly, seeming almost smug about the mention of his _throwing her through a god damn wall._

"Yes, I assumed you would remember Snake Eyes well," Hawk stated. Raven glanced at the General before raising her amused glance to Snake Eyes.

"Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow and Lady Jaye... I'm beginning to kind of see a pattern here, y'know," Raven mumbled, smiling out of amusement as a few Joes in the room held down chuckles. That including Storm Shadow and Lady Jaye themselves.

General Hawk cleared his throat, signalling them all to go quiet. The room went silent in a matter of seconds.

"Well, I assumed you all want to know what this woman is doing here."

A few Joes nodded or murmured their agreement before Hawk continued.

"...You're here, Raven," he turned his glance to her. The room went quiet once more, and they waited with bated breath to realize why she was here, who she was, why she was important- anything to quell their burning questions running a mile a minute in their minds. Yet even as the General paused, thinking of how to word his next sentence, they knew better than to speak of their confusion or suspicions. Then, Hawk finished his statement.

"Because I want to ask you back onto the team."

In a split second the silence turned into excited whispers and shocked gasps, including that of Team Alpha. Especially that of Jinx. Raven almost smiled at the commotion before silencing it with a single word.

 

"Nope."

 

".... 'nope' ?" Storm Shadow repeated.

 

"Nope," Raven nodded. She continued speaking, before General Hawk could interfere. "I left for a reason, Hawk. I don't intend on coming back. Not any time soon, at least."

 

"You only worked under me for two years-" He began, trying to convince her to stay.

 

"Which was plenty of time to realize that you hadn't changed at all," Raven turned to him. Most of the people in the room didn't realize what she meant by that, only one person did. The only one that mattered. "The only reason I joined you in the first place," Raven began, taking a step toward the General as she spoke. "Is _dead._ With her gone, I saw no reason to stay. So I didn't."

 

The room stayed quiet, minus the occasional whispered conversation among confused Joes, and Raven stayed in her spot, looking General Hawk right in the eyes as she waited for a response.

 

He hummed, nodding his head once. 

 

"Then I'll give you another reason to stay."

 

Raven scoffed, doubting his words. The only reason she had stayed was for family. She had no family left, so what other reason did she have to stay now? Yet even as she voiced this opinion, General Hawk shut her down with a single name.

 

"Kelly."

 

Raven froze on the spot. Everyone in the room went silent once more. The tension in the room was obvious to everyone as Hawk and Raven stared each other down.

 

"What has he got to do with this?" Raven asked, her voice just above a whisper.

 

General Hawk sighed, knowing he hit a personal spot, but he did need her to stay. "He helped found us, that's what he's got to do with this," he retorted, not stepping back even as Raven's eyes glossed over. She pursed her lips, taking a step back warily. She looked down.

 

"Fine," She sighed out. "I'll stay." She looked up, at the people around the room, noting the obvious curiosity in their gazes. She looked to the people she knew, or just met. Jinx was more curious than angry, Jaye was confused, Snake Eyes let nothing show, and Storm Shadow stared at her with an unwavering curiosity. Then she looked back up at Hawk.

 

"For a while."

**_((Duh duh DUHH! Don't worry, lots will be explained in the next few chapters, as well as Raven getting to know the Joes better, especially our favorite ninjas (; Leave a review! ))_ **


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